Uncle Tour '08, Part 1

The much-publicized and highly anticipated Uncle Tour ’08 began in the pre-dawn (yawn!) hours of June 20 (Happy Anniversary AARPs!) with a scenic trip across the Deep South, moonwalking the trail of Gen. Sherman. Uncle Keith picked up Papa Ollie at the Birmingham Airport en route to Charleston, Miss. After a short detour through the thriving metropolis of Aliceville, Ala., we found the Charleston skyline bustling as it was on our maiden voyage two years ago.

Our first stop was the finale of the First Presbyterian Church’s annual Vacation Bible School (featuring an Olympic theme) awards ceremony and sing-along. It was followed by a fill-up-your-bucket spaghetti dinner. Also part of our visit was a tour of the local schools, including some tee ball practice, a stroll around Enid Lake (with some fried grub), our first round at the Tallahatchie Country Club (98, 78 scores for UK, PO) with birthday boy Mac Venable, the jack-of-all-trades backyard neighbor, former Mississippi State tennis coach, and chairman of the tourism committee. The visit concluded with a trek to Oxford to dine at the Downtown Grille, and peruse the Square Bookstore.

Uncle Keith just passed the halfway mark of the 2,300-mile journey with a visit to northern Ohio for the nuptials of former Anderson Independent-Mail colleague Rob Meyer and Home Ec teacher extraordinaire Jessica Evanson. After picking up Jon and Oskie Kay at the Canton-Akron Airport, we settled in after a long day of travel. Friday, we took a 3 ½ hour tour of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. Saturday, we visited Berlin Center and the Mastropietro Winery for the ceremony. The rain subsided enough for the vows, and the dancing and drinking didn’t end until after 3 a.m.

The final week of the tour begins Monday with a visit with Joe Lord to Great American Ballpark for a meeting between the Reds and Pirates. Tuesday brings a 36-hole golf marathon at Heritage Hills and Nevell Meade. Wednesday is a visit to the Bats with the pension prince and princess. And Thursday delivers a trip to Central Indiana with among other things, a fireworks show, circus, cookout, and various uncle-niece gigglefests.

Jessica, the bride, at the reception.
Rob and his mom in the mother-son dance.
Uncle Keith and Ben along Enid Lake.
Enid Lake in all of its glory.
Uncle Keith showing Ben how to make a log splash.
Gracie reading to the rugrats.
Driveway fun!
Clara getting the hang of training wheels.
Snack time.
Ben cashes out after a day of Uncle Keith's antics.
Ben showing off his harmonica talents.
Ben takes no prisoners at the dessert table.
Ben wondering why Uncle Keith is taking a picture instead of playing football or balloon with him.
Papa Ollie and Clara at the elementary school.
Andy and Ben at dinner on Enid Lake.
Papa Ollie, Ben, Clara giggling before golf and a friend's birthday party on Sunday.
Papa Ollie and Ben watching the College World Series.
Andy and Ben playing the piano book.
Gracie and Clara swinging at the elementary school.

Bonnie & Clyde

Last week (in the middle of a busy Bible School schedule!) we took an evening drive over to adopt a kitten. A kitten, meaning one. But, once we were watching them play we decided that two kittens would be much more fun. This way, they can play together and keep each other company while we're gone. After some intense negotiating it was decided that they will live in the garage. That was the middle ground between indoor/outdoor and totally outdoor/on their own. They love the garage and are still working up the nerve to come out of it much!

This is Clyde:
Of the two, Clyde is a little bit more timid than Bonnie. He has a really cute bounce in his run and he loves to climb on the lawn mower deck.

This is Bonnie, actively demonstrating what it's like to be held by a very enthusiastic Abigail. Bonnie is fearless as long as she is in the garage. She loves to chase things and doesn't seem to mind when Abby picks her up.

So far the kittens have been no trouble at all and are lots of fun. Abigail often announces that she needs to go check on the "kennys." She means "kitties," of course, but since Polk's cat is named Kenny it's all just a little confusing!

Visit to Louisville

Last weekend we went to Mom and Dad's (aka Polk and Pop's) house for a Father's Day visit. The neighborhood wide yard sale was going on so we had plenty of entertainment! Here are some pictures in Mom's beautiful back yard:



Abby really thinks she is planting flowers, not just watering them. We had a lot of fun and made it home by bedtime on Saturday night.

Tee-Ball Season

At the end of May, Clara finished her year of dance classes with a recital...

and in June, we have switched gears entirely to Tee-Ball! Except, in Charleston, there is no tee until the player is not able to hit a coach-pitched ball after 4 or 5 tries. Needless to say, there's not a lot of action! Clara has enjoyed another activity with her friends (ages 4-6), but is pretty worn out after the games are over. She is #2 (Uncle Keith's number!) on the Lil' Rebels. Here are some pictures:

On first base after her first hit:

And...approaching home plate after running all the way around the diamond. Everyone gets a hit and no one gets out, so in every game (two innings), each player has two trips around the bases. (And two sessions of standing in the field talking with friends, examining the chalk on the base paths, trying on gloves as hats and occasionally running after a hit ball in packs!)

This weekend we've enjoyed some extra lessons with expert coaches Papa Ollie and Uncle Keith, but I think we'll wait to start thinking about scholarship options--lip gloss, dressing up as a princess, and pretending to be a pioneer settler with the Ingalls family are still top priorities for Clara!

What keeps us going

Hannah's big smile! Enjoying some time on the porch

Being a wife and working mom of two is the most difficult role I’ve ever taken on. Like most moms however, it’s also the job that I work the hardest at. Some days seem nonstop. I wake up early, drop off kids, fight traffic to the office, crunch numbers and answer questions all day, fight traffic again to go home, make supper, nurse Hannah, play with Abigail, do bathtime and then bedtime. Whew, I’m exhausted! In there somewhere are household chores, grocery trips, doctor’s appointments and some time for friends and extended family.

Andy’s work schedule keeps him hopping as well. When he isn’t working for Johnson County he is usually doing landscape work for the electric company or a concrete job for someone. Both of us make the girls our #1 priority, spending as much time with them as possible. That priority guided our career paths to this point, we are each away from home only 4 days a week (not counting Andy’s "side jobs"). We share bedtime duties and take equal shares in discipline and even on days when we barely have an uninterrupted conversation, we usually manage to stay on the same page as parents. All of this is such hard work but we wouldn’t trade our lives for anything. This time of having little people to mold and raise will pass too quickly. In the meantime, the girls are our reward for the hard work we do.

Every afternoon when Andy brings the girls home I am anxious to see them and hear the details of their day. Abigail comes walking up the porch steps by herself and opens the kitchen door. Then is the best part, she comes running across the kitchen for a hug saying, "Hi Mommy, how was your day?" What a thrill to watch her grow and learn so much, so fast. We talk a little about our day and have supper and then we hope to play outside some, if the weather is nice. Then, I give Abby a bath while Hannah hangs out with Daddy and when Abby is ready for stories we switch. Andy rocks her and lays her down.

Each evening when I change Hannah into her pajamas we have what seems like a full conversation of coos and gurgles with lots of grins and big happy smiles. She is so sweet and we are really enjoying her, just as we hoped we would. These few minutes with her make my day and I just love seeing her so happy to see me! For at least two weeks I’ve been trying to get this time on video to share on the blog but apparently our little Hannah is camera shy because she immediately clams up...or maybe she only wants to share her cute little sounds with Mommy!

So, those are the moments with each daughter that delight me on a daily basis. This post is not about a specific event or progress report, just a synopsis of the little moments of daily happiness that our children bring us. Even though they frequently whine and spit up, we love them so much no matter what and we’re so happy that all of you care so much about our little family.

Cowboy Birthday Party!

As most of you know, our Benjamin turned 2 last weekend. We are so thankful that God gave him to us. He has brought us so much joy in these two short years! Celebrating with us were his two friends from church, Julius and Kylie. These are some pictures from his party:

Natural Disasters in Central Indiana

It's been a rough week for Central Indiana.
Just last Tuesday and Wednesday the area was hit with severe thunder storms and tornadoes. Among the damaged areas was the town of Moscow, a tiny little town in Rush County that was home to only about 60 people. This is the town where Andy's grandparents and great grandparents had lived for many years. Sharon and Larry lived in Moscow for awhile in the early years of their marriage and still know several people there. Andy's great aunt Evelyn still attends the Moscow Christian Church where she played the organ for 65 years until "retiring" 2 years ago. Also, several deceased family members are buried in Moscow. Many houses in town or close by were badly damaged but several others had only slight damaged, or were left untouched. The tornado's path is very clear in arial shots that appeared in the Indianapolis Star. Larry's elementary school was still there, though unused, and the roof and top floor of the old brick building were taken off. Saddest by far was the loss of the town's 122 year old covered bridge. It was a beautiful landmark that spanned over 200 feet. The bridge accomodated only cars and Amish buggies so it was a great destination for a quiet country drive because there were no big trucks in the area. We've all been saddened by the tornado damage, as Larry said, "Four generations of our family enjoyed that bridge."
Andy was considering a drive to Moscow on Saturday to help clean up after the storm but since it was pouring down rain he decided not to go. It's a good thing he stayed home, at 9am he was called into work. Our sump pump ran almost nonstop all weekend. Franklin and Shelbyville eventually received about 10.5 inches of rain between Friday and Saturday. Flooding has been widespread and treacherous. You can read the details here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25044884.
Andy worked 23 hours straight before coming home to tell me about the damage and to get some rest. Their crews barricaded roads and cleared fallen trees from the roads. They pumped water away from the courthouse and the hospital, too. The flood tore up many roads and bridges and damaged the dams at several lakes south of Franklin. Our favorite park in Franklin, Province Park, lost a bridge and was still under the water of Young's Creek last night. In fact, at Province Park the softball field where Andy and I used to play on a co-ed team was just about ruined. A child's sandbox was on top of the adjacent restroom building and several cars were scattered around the field. One vehicle was resting on the backstop! Many of the houses in downtown Franklin had damage and as we drove through town last night we saw so many people pulling wet carpet and furniture out onto front lawns and just trying to get a grip on the situation.
We are so sad for all of the people dealing with the filth left behind by the flood. It is a sad reminder of the fragility of human life and lifestyle. The rebuilding will take months, at least. Please keep the people in our area in your thoughts and prayers. Some are recovering from both the tornado and the flood!